


Still Here

by magebird



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, Human Winston
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-30
Updated: 2016-09-30
Packaged: 2018-08-18 17:01:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8169298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magebird/pseuds/magebird
Summary: One of Mercy's resurrections creates a big change for Winston.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Mercy rezes Winston and he comes back a little different. Winston adjusting to being human. The gaint, the clothes, the ability to be out and about and not be gawked at or scare anyone. Being not sexually unappealing to most humans. Cute chubmuscle Winston with a scruffy dorky sorta charm to him, being almost totally unaware of people checking him out or hitting on him because it's such a foriegn concept. 
> 
> ++ Talk of how isolated and lonesome he's been since Overwatch disbanded.  
> ++ ATHENA. Winston's relationship with Athena, and how this changes it.
> 
> https://overwatch-kink.dreamwidth.org/679.html?thread=791463#cmt791463

"Winston! Can you hear me?!"

The words seemed to come from a great distance and Winston groaned softly, struggling to peel his eyes open. Every inch of his body was filled with a strange, uncomfortable buzzing like the feedback from a broken speaker. 

"Winston!" He recognized the panicked voice this time as Angela's. The buzzing made sense, then. Her ability to resurrect people left some strange side effects, but Winston was far more used to feeling energized than like he'd been hit with a truck. 

Something wasn't right. His skin felt overly sensitive, every breeze and brush of his armor way too intense, and beyond that he couldn't get his limbs to move in the right way. Was he injured in some way Angela hadn't been able to repair? He was sprawled on his back, he registered. 

"What happened?" he asked, finally cracking his eyes open and looking up at the blue, blue sky. Distantly, the ocean pounded against Ilios's cliffs, but the smell of salt was muted somehow. 

"I don't know," Angela said. When he turned his head towards her, her eyes were red and cheeks blotchy. "You're alive-- but something's wrong. Something's changed."

* * *

They brought him back to Gibraltar, but it took ten minutes of authorizations before he could get Athena to let them land. She didn't recognize him, but Winston couldn't blame her. There were no provisions for this sort of change.

Reinhardt had lent him clothes, but they were tight and uncomfortable over his broad body. His new body. Brown skin, black hair, dark eyes. He had a scruffy beard and thick body hair, though of course significantly less than what he was used to. Winston found himself smaller than he had been, though he was still tall for a human. And, that was what he was now. Human. He was forced to balance upright on a pelvis that tilted in the wrong ways and struggle to grip with too-short toes when he walked across the floor. It felt fundamentally wrong, and Angela was already immersed in what information there was trying to figure out what the hell had happened. 

Winston turned his glasses over in his hands, staring down at the fingers that felt too thin and delicate. They didn't fit his face anymore, so he'd need new ones. Until then, everything beyond a few feet was blur.

He sighed. They'd left him alone in the tiny cockpit of the transport as autopilot took them in for a landing, though he would have much preferred some company. Still, he was used to being alone when things went wrong. This was really nothing new.

* * *

Reinhardt had to show him how to trim the scraggly beard he'd woken up with. It was strange, clipping away at the hair until it lay neatly along his jaw, but Reinhardt taught him how to get a shape that didn't look like he'd just dragged himself off a desert island. He had no idea what to do with his hair and ended up borrowing a little gel and sweeping it back in imitation of the styles he'd seen human adopt before. 

Winston made a face in the mirror as Reinhardt put the trimmer away, catching the other man's eye. 

"You look fine," Reinhardt assured him.

"I feel very strange," Winston replied, running a hand over his chin to feel the beard. "I wonder if I will remain trimmed when-- if I transform back."

"When, my friend." Reinhardt's huge hand clapped Winston on the shoulder, giving him a light squeeze. "Don't worry. Angela is going to return you to your proper form soon."

Winston offered him a faint smile that Reinhardt returned without hesitation. 

"Frankly, you couldn't have ended up with a more appropriate human form," Reinhardt remarked, putting his hands on his hips and looking Winston up and down thoughtfully. Winston glanced down at himself. His stomach curved out slightly, thick and muscular, and his thighs were wide in the sweatpants he was borrowing. Mass had certainly vanished to somewhere, but he seemed to have retained a relatively similar bulk across forms. Compared to Reinhardt, he had heavier body hair, black and coarse, but he still felt bare after living a life completely covered in thick fur.

"Thank you, I think," Winston said. 

"It is a compliment," Reinhardt assured him.

Winston looked back in the mirror, frowning. It was hard to know how used to his body he should try to become, not knowing if it would last. He sighed, tugging his shirt straight, and glanced away. Angela would figure something out. She had to.

* * *

"Athena?" Winston said as he walked into his bedroom. It was strange to be so upright and the rhythms of movement even in the familiar space felt off. It took a moment longer than usual for the screen on one wall to light up. 

"How can I help you?" Athena asked, her standard greeting for users. She was almost never so formal with Winston. 

"Hey, it's just me," Winston said, sitting down on his bed across from the screen. "You can relax a little."

Athena was quiet for a few heartbeats. "Sorry," she said. "It is difficult to reconcile your current form with my recognition profile."

"I know. I can give you some authorization codes to amend--"

"No. It's alright. I will adjust." Athena sighed softly. "Are you in pain?"

"No. Not at all. In fact, even that bruise on my ribs seems to have disappeared in the transformation." Winston felt a little better at her concern. "Angela is going to turn me back soon, though."

"Yes, she's been trying to find any information that might help ever since you arrived. I'm afraid there isn't much precedent for this," Athena said. 

"Will you send her a message reminding her to sleep? I don't want her to beat herself up for this."

"Done," Athena said after a moment. "I agree that being fully rested will give her the tools to restore you more promptly."

"You're sweet." Winston sighed, lying back on the bed. "It's still me, though. My mind doesn't appear to have been affected."

She didn't respond for a few moments, then said, "As long as your expertise in maintaining my systems remains intact, I don't have anything to worry about."

"You'll be fine, Athena," Winston said, smiling. He knew her well enough to read the relief in her voice. "I'm still here."

* * *

The weeks passed, and though Angela was devoting every spare moment to he research, all her potential solutions were deemed too dangerous to attempt. Another resurrection could reverse the "damage," but it was a complete tossup and would require incredible precise choreography and more pain than anyone wanted to dish out. 

Winston adjusted bit by bit. It was strangest not to be instantly noticeable. People didn't stare when he was out in public, and though he'd always been a relatively private person, it was very odd to suddenly have maintaining that be easy. 

Lena was out on assignment, but she video called him almost every night to offer support and reassurance. Her worry was palpable, but she was always upbeat despite it and Winston was glad to have her friendship. 

The bustle of the station went on. Recruits came in, training commenced, and suddenly there were people who had never seen Winston in his actual shape. There were no more accidental references to monkeys and Winston could eat a banana without feeling self-conscious. Of course, those he'd recalled knew and worried for him, but the paradigm shift in how people responded to him was undeniable. 

He noticed it most when he started getting invited to outings. It wasn't that he was excluded actively before, but there were many places he just couldn't be welcome, even when Overwatch had been in its heyday. Winston went out to a bar for the first time with Mei and a few of her friends and sat comfortable without sticking out. 

Their server was a friendly young woman who kept smiling brilliantly at Winston and he felt himself blushing. She had her dark hair pulled back in a bun and brought him a slice of cake towards the end of their evening, claiming that some other customer had changed their mind. Winston couldn't figure out why she was lying to give him things until Mei nudged him with her elbow and told him he was being flirted with. 

Winston nearly choked on his cake.

* * *

Lena threw her arms around his neck the minute she saw him, dragging him down into an embrace.

"Winston! You're so short!" she said, looking up at him and grabbing his face. She ran her fingers through his beard, laughing. "Wow!"

"It's still me," Winston assured her, scratching the back of his head. "I promise."

"Well that's good! If my best friend had disappeared completely I'd have to have a few words with someone!" Lena hugged him again, squeezing him as tight as she possible could. Her slim arms felt much stronger than they had when he was in his true form. Pulling back, she looked at him with concern. "Have they made any progress with turning you back?"

"Nothing viable," Winston said, adjusting his glasses. "But, I've been modifying my armor to fit this body and... there are other perks."

"What does that mean?" Lena asked. At his tiny smile she curled her hand into a fist and punched him in the shoulder. "Winston! Did you go on that date?!"

"Her name is Marlene. She works down in town-- and before you ask, yes, I told her about what happened." Winston couldn't hide his embarrassment, but Lena had encouraged him every step of the way and was grinning at him now. "I'm in less of a hurry to change back now."

"That's fantastic," Lena said. "Winston, I'm so happy for you!"

They started towards the dining hall and Lena did her best to pry every detail of the relationship out of him. There wasn't that much to tell-- it was all very new and tenuous, but Winston couldn't help feeling grateful he was getting a chance to try out something that had always been out of his reach. 

Not that he could blame them. As soon as Angela put him back in his own body, he knew he'd be back to his loneliness. At least with Overwatch recalled there were more people around, but it wouldn't be long before he was left alone in his lab again even so. 

Lena chattered on about her assignment as they got lunch together, her smile wide and relaxed, and Winston felt a pang. Was it worth even pursuing a return to his natural body when things were so much easier like this? Should he even be allowed to want to stay human?

Well, for the time being it didn't matter. Angela still had no "cure," and Winston knew better than deny himself the small happinesses that came day by day. With a smile, he turned his attention back to Lena, willing for now to accept where he was in peace.


End file.
